Re: Message Sequence Integrity

[drummond@xxxxxxxxxx (Rik Drummond)]

Thanks Bob for putting them in ISSUE/ REQUIREMENT form. Good comments!  We
will enter these into the List and discuss them is much more detail
later....Thanks...Rik



>ISSUE - MESSAGE SEQUENCE INTEGRITY - Internet e-mail does not guarantee
>message sequence integrity. In other words, message N+1 may be delivered
>before message N. Some EDI VANs provide message sequence integrity. There
>are probably some EDI applications that require message sequence integrity.
>How will they implement this requirement? By waiting for the recipient to
>return a 997 for message N before sending message N+1?
>
>Also, some users have their translator validate the sequencing of the
>interchange control numbers (by trading partner) in order to detect missing,
>duplicate or out-of-sequence interchanges. Will they have to turn off this
>validation feature when doing EDI over the Internet? If so, then how will
>they detect missing, duplicate and out-of-sequence interchanges?
>
>REQUIREMENT - DETECTION OF MISSING, DUPLICATE AND OUT-OF-SEQUENCE MESSAGES -
>EDI users need an automated means to detect missing, duplicate or
>out-of-sequence messages, where the sequencing problem is caused by the
>communications layer (e.g., the Internet e-mail software) or the security
>layer. Sequence problems caused by the business application or the EDI
>translator are not within the scope of this requirement.
>
>This feature is normally provided by the EDI translator that verifies that
>the interchange control numbers (ICNs) are received in the correct sequence.
>
>If this feature was provided by a layer below the EDI translator (e.g., the
>security layer or the communications layer), then it could be used by e-mail
>users, proprietary EDI applications that don't use an EDI translator, and
>EDI applications where one of the trading partner's has a translator that
>does not validate ICN sequencing.
>
>FYI. I believe that Premenos's Templar product can detect duplicate messages.
>
>
>Bob Lyons
>EDI & Internet Consultant
>Unidex, Inc.
>1-908-975-9877
>boblyons@unidex.com
>EDI Help Desk: http://www.wwa.com/unidex/edi/